Dentists customarily use an oral device referred to in the field of dentistry as a dental impression tray, to make a full impression of the maxillary and/or mandibular teeth or a partial impression of a selected quadrant of the upper or lower arch. To the dentist and dental technician, the impression of the dentition is necessary to reproduce the details of the teeth and to record and replicate their registration for the preparation of a dental restoration.
Mouth protecting oral devices have heretofore been developed for sports contact use to protect the teeth from injury. The prefabricated type mouthguard is a molded thermoplastic appliance designed to fit over the arch of a typical size mouth. Since the jaw and mouth of each individual varies in size and shape, the prefabricated type mouthguard is generally a poor fit and causes substantial physical discomfort to the user. Moreover, since a prefabricated type mouthguard does not conform to the impression of the user's teeth, the user must keep the jaws relatively closed to hold the mouthguard in place, which adds to the discomfort of the user. This also impairs breathing through the mouth. Accordingly, the user of a prefabricated type mouthguard will insert the mouthguard only when needed and will remove it as soon as possible. Such a mouthguard has also been proven to be a serious impediment to communication which further reduces its utility.
Attempts to provide a mouthguard with greater user comfort have been directed toward conforming the mouthguard to the dentition of the user. This type of mouthguard typically falls into one of two categories: (a) "custom made" by a dentist or other professional over a cast from an impression of the dentition using the same skill and knowledge in the preparation of an impression for a dental restoration or (b) formed by the user himself in conformity to his own dentition. The latter procedure is hereafter referred to as "user formed" and designates a procedure for making a mouthguard from a self-taken impression of one's own teeth although not strictly limited thereto.
Conventional user formed mouthguards are fabricated using a combination of an impression tray and impression material in which the tray acts both as a mold for the impression material following the same procedure used by a dentist in taking a dental impression and, in addition, as a reinforcing shell to reinforce and support the integrity of the molded impression material inside the shell for protecting the teeth. Although such a device has the potential for making a proper impression of the user's teeth, self application has proven to be extremely difficult and invariably results in the tray being seated poorly with unevenly distributed impression material causing discomfort and/or lack of protection. In addition, a mouthguard defined by the combination of an impression tray and impression material is inherently bulky and cumbersome. Moreover, the user will still experience difficulties in communicating with this device in the mouth similar to the prefabricated appliance.
The impression tray itself has heretofore been designed to function in a manner equivalent to a dental impression tray notwithstanding the fact that the dental impression tray is intended to be used by a skilled practitioner. When a conventional dental impression tray is used by an unskilled individual, and particularly if self applied, the user will invariably either bite through to the bottom of the tray or unevenly into the impression material or not deeply enough into the impression material. A skilled dentist knows how to position the tray and can control the degree of penetration to assure a uniform distribution of impression material around the dentition. Taking an accurate impression of the teeth should not be the critical criterion in making a mouthguard from impression material since the object of a mouthguard is not to replicate the teeth, but rather to conform the impression material to the teeth.
It has been discovered in accordance with the present invention that the impression material after it has cured can be separated from the tray and function itself as the mouthguard provided it is formed with an adequate amount of material around the dentition during the impression procedure. The impression tray of the present invention controls the distribution of impression material around the dentition and permits self application with reasonable accuracy and without any requisite skill.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a disposable oral impression tray for use by a consumer in making a form fitted mouthguard of his own dentition.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an oral impression tray for use in combination with impression material for forming a user formed mouthguard from such impression material.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an oral impression tray for use in combination with impression material for forming a user formed mouthguard from such impression material.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide an oral impression tray for use in combination with impression material to produce a mouthguard from the impression material which does not significantly impede speaking by the user while in the mouth.
It is an even further object of the present invention to provide an oral impression tray for use in combination with impression material to produce a mouthguard from the impression material by self application with reasonable accuracy and without any requisite skill.